THE PARADISE FLYCATCHER. 



355 



the ends of the wing-coverts, the edges of 

 the secondaries, together with the outer 

 webs, the tips and the shafts of the tail- 

 feathers, are pure white, with the excep- 

 tion of the two central quill-feathers of 

 the tail, which retain their dusky hue. 

 The total length of this bird is five or six 

 inches. The name Rhipidura is of Greek 

 origin, signifying " fan-tail," and is there- 

 fore applied to this and other species of 

 the same genus, whose tails are capable 

 of being spread in a fan-like fashion ; the 

 name albiscapa refers to the white shafts 

 of the tail-feathers, and is therefore only 

 applied to this particular species. 



THE most elegant and striking of all 

 the Flycatchers is undoubtedly the bird 

 which is figured in the accompanying 

 illustration. 



The PARADISE FLYCATCHER is an 

 Asiatic bird, being found spread over the 

 greater portion of India, where it is far 

 from uncommon. It is generally found 

 in thick clusters of tall bamboos, and^is 

 in the habit of frequenting gardens, shrub- 

 beries, and plantations in search of its 

 prey. Its mode of feeding is rather vari- 

 able. Generally it perches upon some 

 lofty branch, and when it sees an insect 

 passing within easy reach, makes a sudden 

 swoop upon it, catches its prey with a 

 hard snap of the beak, which can be heard 

 at some distance, and returns to its post 

 in readiness for another swoop. Some- 

 times, however, it searches upon the 

 branches for the various insects that are 

 found crawling on the bark or hidden 

 beneath its irregularities, and picks them 

 off with great certainty of aim. According 

 to Colonel Sykes, it has even been known 

 to alight on the ground and to seek its 

 food upon the soil. 



It is a most restless bird, ever on the 

 move, flitting from branch to branch, or 

 darting after its winged prey with ceaseless 

 activity. Like many predaceous creatures, 

 it is rather solitary in its habits, being 

 generally seen singly or in pairs, or at all 

 events in no greater numbers than may 

 be accounted for by the presence of the 

 two parents and their young. 



There are several species closely allied 

 to each other, which are found both in 

 India and Africa ; and even the present 

 species was once supposed to be separated 

 into three, the adult male, the female, and 



A A 2 



PABADISB FLYdATOHER.-TcMfrea Paradi*. 



